Tuna Steaks, rare?

I purchased some frozen tuna steaks from Aldi. I'm not going to lie, I want to eat them raw, I can't get enough of raw tuna.

Can I do it? At the very least is it going to be safe eating them rare after searing?

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on the net. Its all caveated with 'Only if its flash frozen at -20c for 7 days'. I don't know if it was flash frozen!

The steaks are in vacuum sealed bags though, which is re-assuring.

Anyone done this before?

I'd probably marinade them in a bit of lemon juice and oil, then season and sear. Personally I always server tuna very rare.

Indeed, cooking them all the way through is a travesty I'll see how they smell and feel after defrosting I guess!

In the end I cooked it through. The smell was fine upon removing from the vacuum seal but the flesh wasn't firm and didn't hold its shape. That was enough to put me off.

I'm guessing that very few top sashimi places get their tuna from Aldi. Cook it.

take the wrapper back to Aldi - explain your disappointment !

HazardO saw you were near Cambridge (UK?) near me, is there a good place to get tuna (or shark/swordfish)
I do not like the appeal of waitrose or other CB supermarkets 'fresh' fish ?
(instinct was to break out waitrose as potentially the best quality but I guess i have been brainwashed by their marketing folks)
In these days of provenance I would like them to tell me when it was fished and how it was stored.

Morrisons sell good Tuna. It comes in fresh and each steak is Vac packed. I always told my customers that wanted to eat raw Tuna (or other fish) it is on their head. they never complained and said it was good.

The things you have to remember on your decision is this: How many people have handled this Tuna steak in its current form? Morrisons Tuna iirc is from India and sometimes Atlantic somewhere can't fully remember. If you want to purchase tuna to eat raw from morrisons ask to see the steaks before they open the vac packaging, you will propbably find two colours of tuna, a dark purple and a lighter version. Both are fine. A fatty steak is better but I have only seen and sold lean steaks. You can ask to for it to be sold in it's vac pack but obviously you will be paying for the weight of the blood and plastic as it will be weighed up.

Personally, Morrisons is the best for fish.

Morrisons fish monger for a long time, yeah I left on bad terms a few weeks ago but still can recommend them.

I wouldn't eat defrosted anything raw tbh, especially anything from lidl/aldi...

get to a fishmongers or a fish counter in a decent supermarket for tuna steaks

jpaul said:

take the wrapper back to Aldi - explain your disappointment !

HazardO saw you were near Cambridge (UK?) near me, is there a good place to get tuna (or shark/swordfish)
I do not like the appeal of waitrose or other CB supermarkets 'fresh' fish ?
(instinct was to break out waitrose as potentially the best quality but I guess i have been brainwashed by their marketing folks)
In these days of provenance I would like them to tell me when it was fished and how it was stored.

Click to expand...

I'd try the market or the van that turns up outside the Portland arms once a week. You might be able to ask them to get you some in.

to be honest complain about frozen fish not being great is like complaining your ford escort isnt as fast as a Ferrari.

richthomuk said:

to be honest complain about frozen fish not being great is like complaining your ford escort isnt as fast as a Ferrari.

Click to expand...

[OT] I'd imagine a Escort cosworth would have a Dino 206 GT for breakfast [/OT]

HazardO thanks for the tuna advice - I will try and visit the Cambourne Morrisons.
coincidentally I have the business card of Paul Utting from Lowestoft who does the fish Wednesdays at Portland Arms - I need to be more committed to brave the traffic and get down there first thing .. the mackerel I had been eyeing up at that time, looked excellent.

spulse said:

I wouldn't eat defrosted anything raw tbh, especially anything from lidl/aldi...

get to a fishmongers or a fish counter in a decent supermarket for tuna steaks

Click to expand...

All tuna is shipped frozen, even in Japan. In fact most sushi experts believe frozen tuna is the best, better texture and improved freshness or some such.

Hodders said:

I'm guessing that very few top sashimi places get their tuna from Aldi. Cook it.

Click to expand...

This.

Unless it is sashimi grade it will not have been blast frozen to kill any parasites.

Cook it fully.